Once a month
by hvff11
Summary: Once a month he gets to live his dream. Ep tag to "Baby in the Bough." B/B


"Once a Month"

Spoiler: Episode tag to "Baby in the Bough"

Rating: K

Pairing: Booth/Brennan

Disclaimer: Don't own. Don't sue

* * *

Once a month he gets to live his dream.

She followed through on her plan to help the city rebuild. It took longer than she suspected and soon she was spending her free weekends there instead of the lab. That was the first sign.

"How's the project going?" he'd ask Monday morning, handing her a coffee as she got in the SUV. She'd wipe the sleep out of her eyes, smile and say, "Well."

One time after a particularly grueling case she suggested instead of going to the Diner for pie and coffee they should take a drive instead. They took her car for a change, and when he spied the carseat in the back he knew this was no ordinary drive.

The bridge was still in the development stages, but the project had employed nearly half of the small town. She pointed out the new building developments she was also assisting financially as they drove. Finally, they stopped in front of a modest but expansive two-story home with a cobblestone walkway and porch that wrapped around the whole house. She turned off the car and without a word he followed her inside.

She showed him the back of the house last, sliding open the glass door to step out onto the porch and see the view across the lake. He felt her eyes on him, almost seeking his approval.

_"I thought you were going to build?"_

_"I was, and then I thought why chop down trees and waste new materials when there are plenty of homes for sale in town?"_

_She closed the sliding door and shrugged suddenly feeling insecure. "I thought it was perfect."_

_"Why didn't you tell me you were doing this?" he turned toward her, watching as the fading sunlight cast a reddish glow on her hair. She looked out the window at the acres of greenery and felt the same calm come over her like when she first saw the place._

_"I don't know. I come into town a lot now. I just thought..."_

_He followed her gaze out the window. "You did good, Bones. I'm proud of you," he grinned._

* * *

Once a month, Carol and Jimmy Grant go out of town.

He didn't know this until he drove up unexpectedly one night when he didn't have Parker.

He'd seen the carseat but didn't ask any questions. She and Carol spent time together going over building plans. It made sense she'd hang onto the carseat from when they'd taken care of Andy.

_"Hey Bones, I brought some Wong Fu's from town. I ate some of the dumplings already, but I...," he stopped dead in his tracks as he walked in the living room._

_He could count on one hand the number of babies and children he'd seen Bones interact with, his son included. She was better than she thought. Parker still asks when he'll see the "Bone lady" next. But, when she'd taken care of Andy he'd seen a new side of her._

_He tried not to get his hopes up when she admitted she'd enjoyed spending time with the baby. He'd seen her blow raspberries on his cheek and make him giggle, which in turn made her laugh and smile. He pretended that it didn't turn him upside down when she'd taken Andy out of his hands and held him close like a protector. Like a mother. He'd looked away when she had to give him up with tears in her eyes. It twisted his heart strings like the first time he'd looked at Parker and knew he'd give him everything._

_He'd give anything for this moment to last a lifetime._

_She sat in a rocking chair with an afghan pulled over both of them while she read a story to Andy and rocked him gently. When she heard Booth enter, she saw his look of surprise and wondered if he'd run scared again. She'd stopped running and pushing him away, now wanting... No, needing more. He'd told her she'd have to share a piece of herself if she expected anything in return. She expected and hoped for so much now. Because of him. There were so many things she never knew she wanted._

_"Hi," she whispered, looking down at Andy's sweet face. "He's asleep."_

_"I see," he nodded, dropping the food on the table and moving closer. He noticed how the baby's fist was wrapped around her finger, eyes closed in peaceful dream-filled sleep._

_"Temperance," he looked at her uncertainly, a serene look on her face he'd never seen before. She looked up at the sound of her name._

_"I...Sometimes, I take care of him," she searched his eyes for emotion. Did he think she was crazy? Unfit to be a mother someday, if she decided?_

_"He's getting big," he smiled, reaching out to caress the soft tuft of hair on his head. _

_She looked from the baby to him and kept on rocking the chair. Was this what it was like?_

* * *

He spied a baby store bag in her office one afternoon, and she surprised him by telling him the Grants were going out of town again. He understood, saying that if he didn't have Parker he'd love to come.

She left the lab on time, which was practically early for her, on Friday. Angela said she'd been humming when she left. He made a quick call to Rebecca to see what her plans were. Parker got on the phone and said that he had a sleepover that night. He assured his son that it was okay for him to be with his friends. He'd see him next weekend.

_"What will you do, dad? You're not gonna be lonely are you?"_

_"Nah," he assured him, throwing a bag in the backseat of the car before hopping behind the wheel. "Bones and I are gonna see a movie," he replied, chuckling under his breath at the thought of her giving into his begging for a state of the art home theater in her new house. Pigs would fly first._

_"Cool, is it the new Harry Potter movie? Mom said I could see that tomorrow."_

_"Yeah, maybe. Listen bub, I gotta go. Have fun at your party. Don't eat too much ice cream like last time."_

_"Dad?_

_"Yeah, bub?"_

_"Is Bones your girlfriend?"_

_He gunned the engine and headed toward the highway, no longer needing a map._

_"Be good for your mom, Parker. Love you."_

_"Okay, love you too Dad."_

* * *

Once a month the fish practically leap out of the water and onto his fishing pole.

She'd become a vegetarian so Wong Fu's and the Diner in all its greasy glory no longer held the same dinner options for her.

Luckily, the local hardware store had a fishing rod and tackle box. He also bought a rowboat and loaded it onto the top of the SUV. The passing months had brought on a thick fog of heat and the wind blew through his hair as he drove through a no longer sleepy town. She'd just finished giving Andy a bath when he pulled into the driveway and announced he was going to catch dinner. She wrapped the baby up in a towel and told him she hoped he didn't mean he was going to shoot anything.

After two hours the mosquitoes were eating him alive but he'd caught fourteen trout. He proudly marched up to the house, slowing as he saw Andy and Bones on the back porch swing. She held him securely on her lap while gently bouncing him. His laughter drifted through the air and Booth nearly dropped his fishing pole as a pang in his chest knocked the air out of him. Her hair blew gently in the breeze and her face relaxed into a smile he fell more in love with everytime he saw it. She held Andy's hands when he reached for her and cooed softly at him.

He felt like he was intruding on a private moment although he'd been invited.

"I got dinner, you two," he announced walking up the steps.

"Oh good, its not a dead deer," she smirked and the baby gurgled. "Um, I'll go get Andy ready. You should take a shower."

He shifted from one foot to another. He hadn't thought about that. He always left before it got too late. He hadn't used her bathroom or been in her room. It was too intimate. But, seeing her holding a baby he wished was theirs...

He never felt closer.

* * *

Once a month he crosses the line.

She started to make up the guest bedroom for him, but it didn't feel right. He preferred the couch, he said. She nodded, and after another day of feeling like he was living a dream he helps her put Andy down in the crib she'd bought for her room. He knew what it was like watching his child sleep and he could tell from the look in her eyes how much she loved the little guy.

_"Do you want kids, Bones?" he asks her one night after putting Andy to bed. She looks surprised for a moment and sips on a glass of wine, looking down at her lap._

_"I don't know. Does it matter?"_

_He puts his beer down on the coffee table in front of them and reaches for the wine stem she'd been twirling between her fingers. Their eyes lock in an intense gaze. _

_"No," he says sincerely. She regards him for a moment, relaxing again._

_"Do you want more kids?"_

_He nearly chokes on his beer before finding his voice. "Yeah, someday," he muses on their perfect little house of make-believe. "But, I love visiting with Andy."_

_She nods thoughtfully, "Yeah, me too."_

The bed would be more comfortable, but he wouldn't be able to hear the synchronized breathing of them from across the hall. It lulls him to a deep sleep usually. But tonight, he thinks back over their conversation about having children. More children.

As if propelled he glides quietly down the hall toward her bedroom which was open a crack. He peeked an eye in to check on the baby and opens the door further when he doesn't see him. Heart racing, he looks over at the bed and sees Andy curled up asleep in her arms. He can't tear himself away and go back to the couch like this was all pretend anymore. Seeing his Bones cradling a baby that she treated like it was her,_ their _own was too much for him.

Stirring awake, she squinted up at the shadow cast over the room. "Booth?"

"Shh, go back to sleep. I was just checking...," he should've turned to leave, but instead leaned down to kiss the baby's soft head and on impulse kissed her forehead. His eyes met hers as he pulled back and the fairytale was over. This was real.

"It's okay," she gave him a small smile, and pulled back the covers for him offering more than her bed.

_Once a month could lead to forever._

* * *

**I've written only K rated fiction this year so far...someone send me smutty thoughts. And let me know what you think!**


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